Pneumatically-discharged liquid container



July 8, 1930.

G. W. HANSON PNEUMATIGALLY DISCHARGED LIQUID CONTAINER Filed Oc'b. 10,1925 Patented July 8, 1930 PATENT OFFICE GUSTAF WILLIAM HANSON, FWICHITA, KANSAS PNEUMATICALLY-DISCHARGED LIQUID CONTAINER Applicationfiled October 1\0, 1925. Serial No. 61;;8807.

My invention relates to containers in common use, such as steel barrelsor drums, that by the nature of their construction do not withstand thehigh air pressure arrived at lwhen such containers are used similarly tothepneumatic water system. My invention was primarily to furnish privateindividuals, containers of low cost for use in storing small uantitiesof gasoline for use in automobiles, for fuel oil -for oil burners, andsuch other g liquids which are required by insurance regulations, cityordinances and loans to be placed underground, away from the buildingsthey serve. To make this practical, pressure had to be used in some wayto elevate the liquid above the ground to its place of' use, I conceivedthe idea of using an auxiliary tank for storage of compressed air, whichwould be filled by the vendor when he puts the fluid in the container,and have the compressed air tank connected to the container by an airline with a valve to release the air to the container as needed, and notto exceed the safe pressure the container can withstand.

In order toreduce excessive cost `of fittings and valves, valve coressuch as are in automobile tube v'alve stems were selected for air valvesas being easy and cheap to replace, and large enough to handle thequantity of air used. In order tio make a compact article to handle'andinstall, the compressed air tank is welded fast to one barrel head withall the other necessaryopening fittings so that when the head is put inthe barrel in the process of its manufacture the air tank will be within'the barrel. The purpose of this invention in the case of gasoline is togive the individual car owner on his own premises, a filling stationforl his own use that will give him the same service as any fillingstation pump would at a much less initial cost. This container can be4placed anywhere to suit the owners convenience under ground in amasonry or concrete pit, with cover that can be locked for protectionagainst theft.

For convenience and use of the vending company I have placed means forlocking the filling opening so that when it places these containers onits routes, it can furnish the 59 truck drivers with the key thatunlocks this filling opening, so that none but its authorized salesmencan till these containers.

I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, in which Fig. 1 shows one ofthe uses of the invention.

' Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the barrel on the line 2 2 Fig. 8.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the top head of the 60 barrel.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of the compressed air release valve.

- Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of the air inlet valve.

Fig. 6 is a cross section of the connection to the barrel head of thedrainage pipe fittlngs.

Fig. 7 is a cross section of the connection to the barrel head of thefilling fitting with the 70 plug and locking cap.

Fig. 8 is a cross section of the connection of the secondary air inletvalve to the barrelhead.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

This invention may be used whenever fluids are needed to be lifted orwhen the viscosity of the fluid is such that it will not flow readily bygravity pressure.v

In the drawings I have shown one of the uses of my invention in thehandling of gasoline from the barrel to the automobile tank which isillustrated in Fig. l, in which l is a barrel or container. `2 is aconcrete or 85 masonry pit, 3 is the control valve of the outflow of thegasoline and the hose 4 leading to the gasoline tankl 5 on the rear ofthe automobile 6. By opening the valve 3, by the operator the gasolinewill fiow from the barrel l to the tank 5 by reason of the pressureexerted by compressed air in the space 7 above the fluid within thebarrel 1.

To secure enough air pressure at all times to completely empty thebarrel an auxiliary tank 8 for compressed air is installed, preferablywithin the barrel and during the process of its manufacture. This tank 8is of adequate size and strength to furnish sufceei air under pressure.and strong enough 199 to withstand the pressure when it is filled withenough air in large enough quantity'so that when it is released into thespace 7 as needed, it will completely empty the barrel. Y

The vendor of the fluid used which in the case illustrated, is gasoline,fills the barrel atl the opening at 9 leaving the space 7 then closingtightly the opening at 9 with the plug 10. Then from an auxiliary tank-and compressor on his truck, he fills the air tank 8 with compressedair to the required pressure through the air inlet valve 11, thenlillsthe space 7 with air to approximately twenty pounds through -theair A valve 12. After screwing the cap 13 on 14, he places therectangularibar 15 thru the hasp guide 16 which is welded to the head 29of the barrel l., insei-ts and locks the lock 17, and his work iscompleted. He has sold with his gasoline, service in the way of energystored up in compressed air that will force the gasoline out ofthebarrel as needed. The owner then, as he needs the gasoline, will placethe end of the hose 4 or nozzle in the opening of the tank on theautomobile, open the valve 3 and the gasoline will flow from the barrell1 to the gasoline tank 5, and as he needs pressure within the barrel. heopens the release valve 18 by turning the hand wheel 19counter-clockwise, the stem 2O moves downward and its cupped end 21pushes the end of the valve pin 22 so that the valve 23 is vopened andthe air escapes through the opening 24 in-the tubular valve shell 25 tothe annular space 26 and out through the opening 27 4in the outertubular shell 28, thence to the space 7 above the gasoline in barrel 1,regulating the pressure according to a low pressure tire gage held on12, allowing enough air to escape to the empty space l7 of the barreltill the required pressure is reached, then turning the hand wheel 19clockwise until the pin 22 is released 'and the valve 23 closes.

I have elected to show a hand operated release valve on account of itssimplicity, but a release valve automatically regulated by the selectedpressure of space 7'can be used instead of the manually operated Valveand "either are within the scope ofmy invention as to use in thecombination. 4

All the air valves are equipped with the same kind of valve cores asused in the valve stem of automobile tire tubes, and the valve shellsare designed vso that th'e valve cores can easily be changed at any time.when required. The construction of the complete air release valve 18 isshown in a longitudinal cross section in Fig. 4 where the outer tubularshell 28 is welded to the tank 8 at the shoulder 30, and welded to thebarrel head 29 at the shoulder 31. Within shell 28 is fitted the innertubular valve shell 25 having a rubber, cork or fibre annular packing.at 32 and another packing at'33, while at the threaded within-barrel 1.Within the valve shell 25 is screwed fast the'valve core 23 at 37 withthe Valve pin 22 of extra distance extending some length above 37v wherethe cupped end l21 of the stem 20 can reach it to press downward andopen the valve23. The stem 20 has a threaded section at 38 fitting inleft hand threads tapped in the shell 25 so that by the rotation of 20counter clockwise the cupped end 21 of 20 will be moved downward againstpin 22 and eausedto open the valve 23, allowing the air to pass upwardand out thru the opening 24 to the annular space 26 and out thru theopening 27. Rotating the stem 20 clockwise will cause the cupped end 21of 20 to move upward away fromthe valve pin 22 and allow the valve 23 toclose. At 39 is placed another 'annular packing to close4 leakage fromthe annular space 26 while at the end 4 0 of the shell 25 is screwed anut 41 with a rubber 0r fibrous packing at 42, so as to further pack thestem 2O from air leaks. The use of left hand threads on 2O at 38 is tomake the movement of the hand wheels on all valves a-like, that is,rotation counter clockwise will open, and rotation clockwise will closethe Valves, the same as the standard globe valve 3.

The inlet air valve 11 as shown in Fig. 5 is constructed somewhatsimilar to the air release valve in that it has an outer and an innertubular shell where the outer tubular shell 43 is welded to the air tank8 at 44 and to the barrel head 29 at 45. Within the shell 43 is fitted atubular valve shell 46 with a conical annular packing ring at 47 whichis pressed tightly to its seat by the nut 48 which bears on theannulariange 49 when the nut 48 is screwed on the threaded-end 50 of the outertubular shell 43. Within the tubular valve shell 46 is scewed fast thevalve. core 23 at 51 and at the threaded end 52 is screwed a standardtire valve cap 53.

, The compressed air 'tank 8 is fastened to the barrel head 29 -by thewelded joints of the tubular shells 28 and 43, but to brace andmakerigid the connection and vrelease from strains the weldedconnections, pairs of braces 54 are welded tothe tank 8 and to thebarrel -head29 as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

of 55. This valve12 is used to gauge the pressure in the space 7 andalso to charge air through it to the space 7 with an automobile handpump in emergencies.

The connection to the barrel head 29 of the out iow or drainage openingto which the control valve 3 is fastened is shown in section in Fig. 6,where the tubular shell 59 is welded at 60 to the barrel head 29 theouterend 61 being tappedQfor a standard size pipe in which a specialbushing coulpling 62 is screwed. At its outer end ushing 62 is fashionedwith a hex nut 63 and it is tapped at 64 for the nipple 65 to whichnipple the valve 3 is screwed and at the lower end 66 the bushing istapped foi' a pipe 67 which reaches to a point close to the bottom ofbarrel, so that the liquid will flow upward and out through the valve 3when it isopened and out through the hose 4 or any connection that theinstallation and use requires.

The lling opening is shown in section in Fig. 7 where the tubular shell68 is welded to the barrel head 29 at 69, having screwed on the outerthreaded end the cap 13, while the interior of the end 14 is tapped at70 for the pipe plug 10. On the cap 13 is a lug 7l, which, together witha block 72 on the bar 15, prevents turning of the cap after the padlock17 is locked in place. The vending companys truck driver will have amaster key to the locks on all the barrels on his route so that no oneelse can have access to the barrels and supply the liquid sold.

In the manufacture of the steel barrels or drums, the air tank 8 iswelded to the tubular shells 28 and 43. The shells are then Welded tothe barrel head 29, the braces 54 are welded to the air tank 8 and tothe barrel head 29, and then the tubular shells 55, 59, and 68 arewelded to the barrel head 29,' after which the barrel head is lockseamed to the barrel in the customary maner.

Although I have illustrated the auxiliary air tank welded to one of theheads of the barrel as the preferred construction, this tank can bewelded to the cylindrical shell of the barrel which position orarrangement does not in any way deviate from the principle of myinvention as the changing of position or shape of the air tank does notchange my invention. Therefore, the auxiliar air tank 8 may be placedoutside of the arrel and a pipe screwed into and leading from theopening 27 to and connected to an opening in the barrel head 29 andaccomplish the same purpose and not deviate in any way from theprinciples of my invention.

I have illustrated in Fig. 1 one of the uses of my invention showing asteel barrel and a hose as a filling station gasoline pump but myinvention can be put to many other uses such as a supply tank to oilburners where insurance regulations and restrictions require the fueloil tank to be placed under ground and also for supplying lubricatingoil in stations and garages where, for space and convem'ence it isdesirable to put the barrels under the ioor.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is 'lhe combination with a liquid dispensing drum havinga supply inlet to the drum, an outlet pipev terminating near the bottomof the drum and a control valve in said pipe exterior of the drum, of acompressed-air tank inclosed in the top of said drum, a valve bushingjoining said drum and tank and an air inlet-valve in said bushingaccessible from'the exterior of the drum, a second valve bushing joiningthe drum and tank and a. valve device in said bushing accessible fromthe exterior of the drum for controlling passage of air under pressurefrom the tank to said space.

GUSTAF WILLIAM HANSON.

